Allison’s mom was worried the trip to New York City had been cancelled.

It was the first blog Kendall had ever written.

For the first time, Avery wanted to cry happy tears.

The three journalism staffers won Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Awards for individual work published either in the 2014 yearbook or in the online paper from February 2013 through February 2014.  CSPA, located at Columbia University in New York City, selects the top six entries in the nation to receive Gold Circle Awards in a variety of categories including writing, photography and design for newspapers, yearbooks, magazines and digital media.

In addition to the winners currently on staff, two 2014 graduates, Cortlyn Dees and Quay Owen were named Gold Circle winners. Dees, former editor-in-chief of The Eagle’s Tale won third place in sports feature writing for her coverage of the boys basketball team and their support of their late coach, Guy Crenshaw. Owen, former editor-in-chief of the Soaring Wings yearbook, picked up a Certificate of Merit in sports action photography for a football photo she took in fall 2013.

Journalism adviser Laura Smith said although at least one Canyon High School student tends to win a Gold Circle Award during a school year, the program has never received five individual awards in one year.

“To compete with schools of all sizes from across the nation is challenging,” Smith said. “I am so proud of these students and their dedication to excellence. CSPA ranks the top three entries and gives a Certificate of Merit to places four through six. Because our journalists work across all mediums, we have newspaper staffers who win yearbook awards and yearbook staffers who win in the newspaper category. Our students function as a large media team, as the range of awards reflects.”

In addition to the Gold Circle Awards, the entire staff of The Eagle’s Tale will receive a CSPA Crown Award in New York in March, placing them among the top 14 online high school newspapers in the nation for schools who publish exclusively online.

“This is a special year for us,” Smith said. “The work of the prior staff set us on a path and our current editors have maintained the course as reflected by the individual awards.”

Allison Koontz, associate editor of the newspaper, earned first place award for academic writing in the 2014 yearbook with her coverage of a science class project. In the digital media category, assistant newspaper editor Avery Cummings placed third in the personal experience category for her story, “A call for compassion,” and staff reporter Kendall Tipton received a Certificate of Merit for his humor column, “Tales of the ER.”  Koontz said she was shocked to hear she won the award.

“I was sitting in the car with my mom when Mrs. Smith called me and I picked up the phone,” Koontz said. “She sounded really excited. At first, I thought it was just something related to the CSPA award we got earlier in the year. Then, I realized it was actually for the story I wrote last year. I was pretty much in tears because I was so excited. My mom actually thought they cancelled the trip to New York and that’s why I was freaking out.”

While walking to ASL class, Cummings received the news of placing third in the nation.

“Mrs. Smith was standing outside the ASL door,” Cummings said. “I waved at her and she waved at me. She motioned at me, and I was somewhat worried that I was in trouble or something bad had happened. She had her phone out. On her phone she had a picture and asked if I knew what it meant. I didn’t so I kind of stood there. Then, I saw my name. She explained to me that I won the award. I sat in ASL thinking about it and, for the first time ever, I almost started crying happy tears. I just kept seeing my name, and it felt incredible.”

Tipton was supposed to receive the news by phone but ran into a problem.

“My phone was broken,” Tipton said. “I came in seventh period because I had 10 minutes to kill. She told me, ‘Congratulations,’ but I had no clue why.”

Smith explained his placement as one of the top six in the nation in the general humor category.

“This award made me realize that I’m perfectly capable of having a successful journalism career,” Tipton said. “I think it solidifies my plans for the future. I recently decided I want to go into journalism or mass communication. This is a lofty goal, but I notice a lot of anchors on TV have an undergrad in journalism and a law degree. I guess you could call it a dream job. But as long as I’m informing people about interesting stories and news, no matter what I do, I will be happy with it.”

While Tipton’s story focused on comedy, Cummings’s story focused on a call to action.

“My story is about a lot of things,” Cummings said. “It’s about life during and after my brother’s death. I wrote the story partially as a way of freeing myself of some of the feelings and in hopes of inspiring others to do better and possibly understand the damage they unknowingly can cause. I wanted people to realize this happens way more than it should and it can be fixed.”

The story, “A call for compassion,” has been accessed by more than 3,800 readers on the Eagle’s Tale Online.

“I didn’t realize this story could go so far but inside I had a hope it could go places and help people,” Cummings said. “It didn’t matter if my name was on it. My story proves that you don’t have to be a legal adult to change things, be successful and do something of such large magnitude. I think this award is proof for me that I am good at something.”